Reason to oppose Anderson as site

You would think that after being elected four times to the Anderson City council and twice serving as mayor, I would automatically be in favor of re-locating the Shasta County courthouse to Anderson.

But I am not.

At first glance, Anderson has made a tremendous offer that I sincerely believe is intended to benefit Anderson citizens. And, if I were making decisions for the court system, I would give it more than just a cursory glance.

While the move would certainly benefit the 10,524 Anderson residents, I have justifiable concern that it would be to the detriment of the remaining 170,000 citizens of Shasta County.

Dozens of Shasta County employees from the Public Defender, the District Attorney, Probation and Sheriff's department offices provide required services at the courthouse. The added cost of putting all of those employees on the road daily is substantial. Even a conservative guess-timate would place the annual price tag in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, spending unnecessary millions of dollars of your hard earned tax money. In fact, as everyone in the county pays taxes, even Anderson residents will help pay this needless bill.

We don't have the money to spend. If we don't have a choice though, something will be cut to balance the budget. Unlike the State and Federal government, we balance our budget. And no, we can't print money.

Cutting back could very well mean the elimination of patrol deputies or county fire funds.

In tough economic times we tend to consider cost first, but there is far more to think about. On a practical basis, let's consider just who uses court services.

We all do! More than half of our county population resides in and around Redding. A move to Anderson will put those folks and their attorneys on the road as well.

A recent traffic study for Interstate 5 has drawn the conclusion that this already busy freeway will be congested to the point of doubling travel times in the near future. Do we now purposely plan to add to that congestion?

And then consider SB375 - California legislation that mandates vehicle emission reductions throughout the state. Part of SB375 logic is to locate core services in more densely populated areas to eliminate extended travel.

If logic wins the day, the Administrative Office of the Court will make the decision to remain in Redding.